Muharram is an important religious and cultural event, so asking Muslim friends about the significance of Muharram can be an interesting learning lesson. This is so those of the faith can experience the same range of temperatures and weather events as all the historical figures in their holy books did. The lunar calendar is 11 or 12 days shorter than the Western solar calendar, so a sort of “cycle” is created around Islamic New Year as it falls back year after year. For Sunnis, Muharram is a time of ushering in the new, with solemn prayer and reflection.

Shias, particularly those in Afghanistan, Bahrain, India, Lebanon and Pakistan, take part in remembrance parades called “matam”, where men gather in the street to take part in ritual chest-beating. They mark the occasion with mourning ceremonies. For example, it is also in Muharram - second only in importance as a solemn occasion to Ramadan - that the 10th day, Ashura takes place, marking Noah’s leaving the Ark and also Moses crossing the Red Sea.įor Shia Muslims, it’s also the death anniversary of Muhammad’s grandson Hussein. The entire month is of holy significance. It’s not just the first day of the month Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar year, that’s important to observe for Muslims around the world. This event is of great importance in the Muslim faith, which is why Islamic New Year commemorates this sacred moment of history.

Therefore, the exodus of Muhammed and his followers to the city that would later be called Medina - a movement called the Hijra - where Muhammad would set forth a Constitution that delineated Muslim’s rights and responsibilities. In Mecca and other areas, Muslims of the 7th century CE faced religious persecution for their beliefs.

12 month islamic calendar 2022